The Trench
by GalacticMilitary567
Summary: This is the story of Private Ryan Smith, told in first person. I tried to make it as realistic as possible, while still including battlefield elements. This is not a history textbook. This is historical fiction/action
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Battlefield and I definitely don't own World War I. This story is told from the point of view of a U.S. Soldier during WWI. If you don't like first-person, don't read.**

* * *

It was 1917. I walked down the streets of New York City in my fedora and business jacket. American flags hung from apartment balconies, blowing lightly in the wind. I looked up and smiled. I have been an American my whole life, and I am very proud of my country. I have been since hearing my grandfather's stories. He was in the Union Army, at Gettysburg and Manassas.

I continued to walk down the street. Paper boys stood on the corner. "Extra! Extra! Germany uses poison gas to damage British defenses in Europe!" one of them yelled. I perked up. That was new. Germany hadn't used poison gas before. I walked up to the paper boy and handed him a nickel. "Here you go" he said, taking my nickel and tossing a paper at me.

I was never a supporter of the German invasion of France, despite having German heritage. I, like most of the people I know, thought of the war as a European conflict. It was like that for about a year. Then the Germans sunk the Luisitania. 124 Americans died from an attack by the German military upon a civilian ship. I was unhappy. Things like that make me want to grab a rifle and fire shots at Germans.

I still saw it as mostly a European conflict though. More British were killed in the attack than Americans. Let the British Military deal with it. But now Germany was subjecting people to an awful, painful death. I wanted to grab my rifle and shoot whoever launched that gas bomb. But I couldn't. We weren't at war.

* * *

Over the next few months, we began to receive anti-German propaganda from Great Britain. The posters would be pinned on bulletin boards, outside store windows, and sometimes would just be lying all over the ground. Many said things such as "Remember Belgium" or "Kick out the Hun". But the poster which ultimately irked me was the one depicting a German firing squad preparing to shoot captured men. In the background, a woman, most likely the doomed man's wife, is topless and surrounded by German soldiers who obviously have the intention of raping her. The top of the poster spells these words: WILL YOU FIGHT NOW OR WAIT FOR THIS?

I realised that if the allies lost the war, this would be the situation in every country that resisted Germany. There would be rape and murder all over the UK, France, Belgium, Italy, and Serbia. Germany and Austria-Hungary started this war because they were greedy and wanted a power grab. All they wanted was to exploit whatever territory and citizens they stole from other countries. This was worth fighting for. I had a girlfriend (whom I planned to marry) and I would do anything to protect her.

Where would Germany go next when their soldiers were done impregnating every girl in Britain, France, and Belgium? They could very realistically invade the United States. I knew then, that I had to stop Germany from winning the war. But how could I do that. American citizens were not allowed to fight under the flag of another country (without dual citizenship). I definitely wasn't an English citizen.

* * *

The solution to my dilemma came a few weeks later. President Woodrow Wilson asked congress to declare war on Germany. In his speech he stated "We must give them a war to end all wars. We must make the world a safe place for democracy to exist". The speech is now famous and also dubbed WWI as the "War to end all Wars". As soon as I heard we had declared war, I went to the recruitment station and signed up to be a rifleman. I would have to postpone asking Sofia to marry me until I got back. We were shipping out in two weeks.

* * *

The first thing I was given was my army uniform. It was made up of olive green combat pants, a brown undershirt, and an olive coat. It had my last name, Smith, embroidered into it. I wondered how many coats exactly like it had been produced already. Probably a lot. The second thing I was given was my rifle. It was an M1917 Enfield rifle with a 6-round magazine. We were told that our lives could depend on the rifle. Anyone who lost a rifle would have to do with their pistol until they found a dead soldier to steal from.

The third thing I was given was a tin helmet. It was-you guessed it-green. And it was shiny. What was the point of using a camouflage color if you used gloss to make it look nicer? If there was sunlight, my head would be a big bright target for just about any German soldier within 10 miles.

We were told that if we ever got in a firefight, we should spread dirt on the helmet to dilute the shininess. We were taught how to shoot, spread dirt on our helmets, and everyone was taught special skills based on what they signed up for. I, being a rifleman (or assaulter as it was sometimes referred to), was only taught that it's good to run fast and take cover.

We learned only those things and paraded through the streets of New York in our uniforms, rifles on our backs, waving the American flag. Then we shipped out. It would be a long trip across the Atlantic.

* * *

 **Is it good? Do you guys want to read more? Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Battlefield**

The ship we were to sail on was large. It could hold hundreds of troops and thousands of rifle rounds. I waited for three hours to board the massive ocean liner. When I got onboard, I was instructed to find a squad and file in. I would be with a well rounded squad, three assaulters (counting me), a sniper, and our medic.

I met my squadmates in the ship's quarters. The first man, Private John Ramirez, was an assaulter from Los Angeles. He had grown up poor and had seen an opportunity to make better cash by signing on with the army. The second person, Private Simon Williams, was our sniper. He was tall but thin and actually looked a bit like the rifle swung over his shoulder. He claimed that he could hit a target from a mile away. I highly doubted that, as sniper rifles in 1917 weren't accurate from that distance. The third man I met was Private Jason Phillips. Phillips was our medic. He was a heavyset man with a thick beard. He should've been wearing a Union Army uniform instead of the green helmet with the big red cross on it. The final man I met was an assaulter. He was also our sergeant. Sergeant Danny Morgan was an experienced combat veteran. He had seen action in the Philippines and had actually ended up intervening in a police shootout in Chicago. Those guys were the finest men I'd ever serve with in the U.S. Army.

* * *

Over the long voyage, those men became as close as family. We each tested each other and found out what we were good at. We felt ready to fight, but there was still another four days before we would arrive in France. It would be another two after that to reach the front lines. And we would have to do that on foot. The captains told us to 'get ready' for war, but there were no computer simulations back in those days. Nobody had any idea how the hell they were supposed to actively prepare to enter a combat zone.

Of course, somebody brought this to the attention of one of the captains. In response, the captains turned the ship into a full-fledged war zone. They had loads of resources, and it was not difficult to simulate blockades with extra sandbags. Each soldier was handed a dud magazine for his rifle and the captains formed two teams. My squad would be on the blue team, playing against the red team.

The game's rules were that you were 'critically wounded' if someone shot a blank within about 30 feet of you. If you were not rescued by a medic, you were considered 'dead' and had to return to your barracks with your arms up. Whichever team captured the other team's 'base' first would win the game. The chain of command would be played exactly like a real battle.

* * *

We were all given a blue patch for our uniforms and were led to our base. It was on the front of the ship and we had the advantage of a sniper in the lookout position. I checked my rifle in standard procedure and waited for the signal. A flare was launched high into the air and we received our first orders. Our squad was going to be on a seek-and-destroy mission. We were going room by room through the ship searching for red troops.

Morgan led us to the large metal door and I raised my Enfield as he slowly opened it. I charged in with Phillips and Ramirez. We quickly busted open doors and found no targets. Slowly but surely, we made our way through the entire hallway. Morgan relayed our results back to command and we were given new orders.

Now we were to provide backup for a squad that was in a 'firefight' with a red sentry. We stepped out of the hallway and onto the ship's deck. I could hear the chatter of a machine gun nearby. The sentry was supposed to be around the corner. We put our backs to the wall and Morgan flashed me a signal.

Grenade.

I nodded and found the blue plastic grenade at my side. Technically a sentry is able to survive one, but it would 'kill' any enemies who were with him. After the three seconds, we all charged around the corner.

There was no sentry.

Suddenly, we heard the chatter of a machine gun. I looked up. The sentry was standing one deck above us. If this had been real, we would all be dead. Defeated, we slung our rifles across our backs and went to the barracks with our arms in the air. We found the name board and returned our dog tags to it. This symbolized that we were 'dead'. Williams wasn't there so I assumed he was still in the crow's nest, picking off whoever got near our blue flag.

Several hours later, we found out the news when Williams got back. He had been picked off by the red sniper, and they had captured our flag. The red team one the game.

 **How was the chapter? Be sure to review!**


End file.
